Well, I don’t believe in psychics, mediums or talking to the dead.
But, I am going to a seance later this year.

Do you know of any things to say to catch them out or prove that they are fake?

(I remember watching a comedy show (I’m British) for maybe “Live at the Apollo” where (maybe Dara O’Brien) said about how (to use his phrase) the audience took the piss out of a medium at a seance. He said some examples and if you could remember them they would do as i know that they were very funny.)

I probably won’t even use them at the seance, but please try your best.

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Oh, noes! it’s not nice to make fun of people’s livelihoods, even if they are frauds. They fill a useful niche in society.

Anyway…

Ask pointed questions about the deceased, making sure that it is in areas that you don’t already know about, and then ask some things you do know. Make sure that the question doesn’t give away the answer, and try not to show when you do or don’t know the answer yourself. The SPR have caught out a fair number of mediums this way, even with their heavy bias. Make sure that it is not something easily guessed, or anything that is too directly physical, and come with a lot prepared. So, for example, here are some DOs and DON’Ts.

DO:
Did (he/she) have an affair while with its spouse?
Was it comfortable with its death?
Did it have any objects that it would have liked to take with it to the afterlife?
Is it happy about (so and so, if you want to catch them out, use a nonexistent relative) getting married/divorced/a drivers’ license/etcetera?

Obviously, you should try to ask some you already know the answer to, but without giving it away, as well as some that you don’t know but probably could.

DON’T:
How many appendages did it have (finger, toes, arms, legs, etc.)?
Did it have any personal jewelry?
What time did it die?
Does it like my spouse?
Where did it leave its (object)?

These all give the answer away, even by being asked; Are too direct, and will likely get a response like, “It can’t remember” or “It doesn’t know;” or are impossible for you to know, so are extraneous and waste time.

Obviously, say, “That was just a joke, that isn’t real,” or, “Wait, it was my other (relative) that had the (object), how daft of me,” when the medium gets something wrong. Most mediums are very skilled at saving face, so they are likely to have a very detailed story of why they got it wrong. Often, it is just futile and childish to argue when this begins, and the initial joke is more for the benefit of the other sitters and yourself than the medium’s, since most mediums know they’re fake, but let’s have a case study, anyway.

You: So, did Grandpa have any close connections to any objects he might have wanted to keep?
Medium: Yes. I see some sort of object, made of metal… Maybe a wooden handle… A shovel? A hammer?
You: (Gasp) You mean his World War One era axe?!
Medium: Yes! Yes! that was it.
You: I was just joking. He didn’t keep sharp objects around.
(This is the important bit)
Medium: Oh. Well, that happens quite a lot, actually. When you open a “Gate,” all kinds of spirits get through and can answer. Do you have any other relatives that owned something like that?
You: No.
Medium: Well, sometimes spirits from other families try to contact the living world to speak to their families, but have to settle for someone else, instead.
You: And why would they happen to be communicating something that I was making up as I went along as a joke?
Medium: It was probably just a coincidence. You had to be somewhere within a metal object with a wooden handle, so an axe was one of only a few objects.

If you really want this to work, say “Okay” at this point and let it go. However, keep this going until the medium runs out of different excuses, or there are an unreal number of “coincidences.” The medium WILL become suspicious, which is why you accept the answers to the questions you don’t know, and confirm others’ questions that the medium gets right and questions that you know that the medium gets right. Also, be careful. Especially in larger groups, a medium that is desperate will begin throwing out extremely specific guesses about what the deceased says about other relatives, which, if they happen to be correct, will be had to disbelieve and are really shocking. There will usually be about five of these, tops, and only if the medium sees that he or she is dealing with hard skeptics. It will be something like the medium turning to one of the skeptics attending, suddenly opening their eyes wide, and saying something like, “He wants to know how your sister’s collection of vintage car stamps is coming.” Obviously, if they have a sister that collects vintage car stamps, then this is beyond shocking for the unprepared, and is the reason many make it past SPR filters.

Anyway, good luck bashing a decent person making a dishonest living. Just remember, if your job was to knowingly lie to people every day but in exchange for offering closure and happiness, you wouldn’t like somebody else that also obviously knows this to rub it in your face that you’re a fraud. Furthermore, remember the people for whom you are ruining that closure.

As I always say, though, if you must ruin someone’s day, make it funny as hell.

I would ask the supposed dead person, through the ‘medium’, why they never say anything practical. Why is it that the mediums only have messages of love to pass on, etc? Wouldn’t you be more concerned with telling these loved ones what death is like? Or who killed you? Or where you left that shirt you had borrowed a few months before you died? I just don’t get why you’d waste your time being vague if you had the opportunity to talk to someone living for maybe the only time ever in death. It’s nonsense.